Tesla Model 3 News

For most of this year, reviews of the Tesla Model 3 have been mixed. The small Tesla EV earned praise for handling and acceleration. However, the overall build quality and the reliability of high-tech dashboard controls received lower marks. Fortunately, there’s a new reason to get excited again about Tesla’s capabilities to produce compelling automobiles: the first reviews of the Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor Performance version.

Tesla confirmed today that it delivered 200,000 electric cars to buyers in the United States, the first automaker to reach that level of sales. The milestone is a mixed blessing because it means that the $7,500 federal EV tax credit available to Tesla customers will be reduced by 50 percent in six months—and continue to diminish to zero by about January 2020.

Nearly a year since the Tesla Model 3 went into production, road-test reviews of the all-electric compact are revealing a rash of quality problems. The most damning of the bad news comes from Consumer Reports, which reported braking distances that were “far worse than any contemporary car,” and from Edmunds, the car shopping website, which wrote: “Sixteen weeks into ownership, we’ve had so many issues with our Model 3 that we started a Google Doc to catalog various warning messages, necessary screen resets, and general failures.”

As the first two so-called affordable long-range electric vehicles, it’s logical to think that the Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model 3 are battling for the same customers. But there are key distinctions that belie the notion of the two cars being in a sales race. For starters—as Forbes made clear this week—the Model 3 is a “sporty, somewhat pricey sedan,” while the Bolt is a “more practical crossover-like hatchback.”

CNN last week declared that 2018 will be “the year of the electric car.” This proclamation happens nearly every year—despite the fact that electric cars remain about 1 percent of the new-car market. CNN rightly states, “Americans (in 2018) will finally be able to buy reasonably affordable and widely available electric cars that can hold enough power to breeze through their daily routines with no worries.” Perhaps the news organization is pointing to the new breed of longer-range EVs. But other signs indicate that we are more likely to see steady growth rather than a quantum leap in EV adoption.

Tesla said on Wednesday that production of its Model 3 small electric car would be delayed by about three months. The company said its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3s a week would likely occur at the end of March, rather than the end of November.

News sources reported today that Tesla fired hundreds of workers on Friday. The dismissals come as the company is falling behind on production targets for the Tesla Model 3, its all-important mass-market affordable long-range small electric car. Tesla encountered missed deadlines and production delays for its previous models, only to turn things around and produce award-winning vehicles credited for pushing the entire auto industry toward electric vehicles.

The first deliveries of the Tesla Model 3 occurred in late July 2017, when 30 employees received the keys to company’s new small electric car. Yet, for the nearly half-million reservation-holders who are eager to take ownership of their own Model 3, there will be months of waiting. The most flexible buyers—those who placed early reservations and who are willing to compromise on desired features—could wait only a couple months. On the other hand, if you aren’t at the top of the waiting list and if insist on buying a specific model such as the 220-mile $35,000 variant (or if dual-motor all-wheel-drive is a must), you might not get your Model 3 until late 2018.

Tesla achieved a major milestone in its corporate strategy on Friday night when it handed keys over to the first 30 drivers of its so-called first affordable electric car, the Model 3. While the company has perhaps as many as a half-million customers waiting to complete a purchase—and therefore doesn’t need to garner more publicity or sales—a number of fans and journalists were granted their first few minutes of seat time last week. The chorus of feedback focused on the minimalist interior that uses a single 15-inch touchscreen instead of any buttons, knobs, dials, or gauges on the dashboard.

Tesla is set to begin delivering the first Model 3 cars to customers at an event on Friday, July 28. Thirty lucky EV fans will become the first Model 3 drivers. They will bask in the limelight of the hand-over ceremony and immediately start reporting on the performance of the much-anticipated Model 3. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of reservation-holders who put down a $1,000 deposit more than a year ago will be anxiously awaiting details about key questions.